ClarkConnect - Enterprise Linux for Your Home

Ever wonder how you could get a solid Security Enhanced Enterprise Grade Linux Router/Server with ftp, apache, traffic shaping, pop-up blocker, content filter, intrusion detection/prevention, and other nice handy tools that every robust server should have...and here's the kicker...installed and running in about 30 minutes in your home? I know quite a few friends of mine that went out and bought routers from brand names like Linksys, Dlink, and Netgear and then bragged about how cool their new router was (especially concerning 'gaming routers'. Good lord that's a con). I then showed them that their router was hackable within a few minutes because most of them didn't change their default password. It's interesting also that their routers didn't do a whole heckuva lot other than route traffic...without throttling or intrusion prevention/detection. On those that were wireless...after some intense packet sniffing, I logged into their network and began surfing the web.

The bottom line is...most routers, if not configured correctly and used to full potential, are wide open and provide only a few functions. If you're like me, this just won't do. To combat this in the past, I used to use Red Hat 7.2 on a PI 75Mhz like an appliance to provide DHCP addresses for the LAN and a tidy firewall via ipchains and later iptables. Now there is a Linux distro that is more robust, more organized, and much more dynamic than most Linux router/server configured systems and it provides MANY functions. That distro is ClarkConnect. Today, I'm going to take a look at ClarkConnect 3.2 and show you how you can secure your network using its web interface and excellent administration tools.